Pyrite with Hematite

specimen number:
8911192

location:
Rio Marina, Elba, Tuscany, Italy

description:
Classic Italian specimen with six good sharp crystals of bright lustrous golden pyrite, the largest measuring to 4.0 cm across, on a matrix of micaceous metallic specular hematite crystals. Damage is present to some of the hematite on the matrix, the pyrite crystals are in good condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the Alton collection.

Located on the eastern coast of Elba Island in Tuscany, Italy, Rio Marina features ancient iron ore deposits that have been mined since Etruscan and Roman antiquity until operations closed in the late twentieth century. The local geology involves complex hydrothermal formations within sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, creating world-renowned mineral deposits. Rio Marina is especially famous among collectors for producing brilliant pyrite specimens intricately associated with or coated by dark metallic hematite, yielding some of the most iconic metallic mineral combinations in the world.

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